Bubble Popper Bingo Game Board Apparatus and Methods of Using the Same

ABSTRACT

A bubble popper game board apparatus has a game board having a grid of elastomeric “bubbles” tor domes hat may be depressed to convert each from a convex configuration to a concave configuration. The grid of elastomeric “bubbles” may be labelled with numerical and/or alphabetic indicia. Preferably, the grid of elastomeric “bubbles” may be utilized in a BINGO game, wherein the grid is utilized as a game board having BINGO letters and/or numbers printed thereon, such that when a letter/number combination is called, the user may press the bubble having the corresponding letter/number combination, thereby effectively marking that the same was called.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present invention claims priority to U.S. Provisional Pat. App. No. 63/321,874, titled “Bubble Popper Game Board Apparatus,” filed Mar. 21, 2023, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a bubble popper game board apparatus. Specifically, the present invention comprises a game board having a grid of elastomeric “bubbles” that may be depressed to convert each from a convex configuration to a concave configuration. The grid of elastomeric “bubbles” may be labelled with numerical and/or alphabetic indicia. Preferably, the grid of elastomeric “bubbles” may be utilized in a BINGO game, wherein the grid is utilized as a game board having BINGO letters and/or numbers printed thereon, such that when a letter/number combination is called, the user may press the bubble having the corresponding letter/number combination, thereby effectively marking that the same was called.

BACKGROUND

The game of BINGO is a well-known activity. The game includes a plurality of game boards having letter/number combinations printed thereon in a typically five-by-five grid of the same. Often, the central cell of the game board is without a number and labelled “FREE,” meaning that it may be used by players as a “free” space. As the game progresses, typically a plurality of balls having each letter/number combination are dropped into a vat, whereupon they are mixed, drawn consecutively, and announced to the players.

Each game board typically has 24 spaces having unique letter/number combinations that fall within the universe of all letter/number combinations provided and one “free space.” Thus, many of the game boards are unique from one another. Typically, a player who first completes a full five-space row, column, or “4 corners” of the game board (or other designated pattern), is typically declared the winner.

However, oftentimes BINGO game boards are used destructively, meaning that a marker, known as a “dabber” is often used to permanently mark the game board as letter/number combinations are drawn and read. Once the game board is marked and the game has ended, the game board is typically disposed of and not utilized again.

Moreover, some game boards are reusable with the placement of chips or tokens that may cover the announced letter/number combinations. However, it is often difficult to maintain these chips or tokens in their respective locations on the game board, as any nudging or bumping of the game board may cause the chips or tokens to shift on the game board playing surface. And while a record of the previously announced numbers is typically kept during a game, it is often difficult to reconstruct a game board during the round; oftentimes, the announcement of letter/number combinations occurs rapidly.

A need, therefore, exists for an improved game board apparatus. Specifically, a need exists for an improved game board that may easily be utilized and re-used as needed to play multiple games with the same game board. More specifically, a need exists for an improved game board apparatus that provides a user with the ability to non-destructively mark letter/number combinations as they are announced during a game.

In addition, a need exists for an improved game board apparatus that uses convex elastomeric “bubbles” that may be easily depressed and converted to concave “bubbles.” By moving the bubbles from convex to concave (or vice versa), the game board may be easily marked to indicate specific letter/number combinations that have been drawn and announced. Moreover, a need exists for elastomeric “bubbles” that may be “reset” by converting the depressed “bubbles” back to their original configuration after a game is played so that the game board may be utilized a plurality of times.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a bubble popper game board apparatus. Specifically, the present invention comprises a game board having a grid of elastomeric “bubbles” that may be depressed to convert each from a convex configuration to a concave configuration. The grid of elastomeric “bubbles” may be labelled with numerical and/or alphabetic indicia. Preferably, the grid of elastomeric “bubbles” may be utilized in a BINGO game, wherein the grid is utilized as a game board having BINGO letters and/or numbers printed thereon, such that when a letter/number combination is called, the user may press the bubble having the corresponding letter/number combination, thereby effectively marking that the same was called.

To this end, in an embodiment of the present invention, a game board apparatus is provided. The game board comprises: a frame having a top and a bottom; a five-by-five grid of spaces wherein a plurality of elastomeric domes are disposed within a plurality of spaces of the five-by-five grid, respectively, each of the elastomeric domes having a convex shape when viewing the top of the frame or a concave shape when viewing the top of the frame, wherein each of the elastomeric domes is configured to be converted from the convex shape to the concave shape by pressing each from above the domes and to be converted from the concave shape to the convex shape by pressing each from beneath the domes; and indicia on each elastomeric domes corresponding to a letter, a number, or a letter and number combination of a BINGO game, such that when a specific letter, number, or letter and number combination is selected pursuant to a game of BINGO, the dome corresponding to the selected letter, number, or letter and number combination is configured to be depressed so as to form the concave shape.

In an embodiment, the first column of the five-by-five grid of spaces has a letter and number combination beginning with the letter “B”, the second column of the five-by-five grid of spaces has a letter and number combination beginning with the letter “I”, the third column of the five-by-five grid of spaces has a letter and number combination beginning with the letter “N”, the fourth column of the five-by-five grid of spaces has a letter and number combination beginning with the letter “G”, and the fifth column of the five-by-five grid of spaces has a letter and number combination beginning with the letter “0”.

In an embodiment, each of the elastomeric domes is made from a silicone material.

In an embodiment, each of the elastomeric domes is sized so as to be to be pressable by a human finger.

In an embodiment, all of the elastomeric domes have the convex shape when viewed from above.

In an embodiment, some of the elastomeric domes have a convex shape and some of the elastomeric domes have a concave shape when viewed from above.

In an embodiment, all of the elastomeric domes have a concave shape when viewed from above.

In an embodiment, each of the spaces of the five-by-five grid has an elastomeric dome.

In an embodiment, each of the spaces of the five-by-five grid has an elastomeric dome except a center space of the five-by-five grid.

In an embodiment, the center space does not have an elastomeric dome therein.

In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, a method of using a game board apparatus within a game is provided. The method comprises the steps of: providing a game board apparatus comprising: a frame having a top and a bottom; a five-by-five grid of spaces wherein a plurality of elastomeric domes are disposed within a plurality of spaces of the five-by-five grid, respectively, each of the elastomeric domes having a convex shape when viewing the top of the frame or a concave shape when viewing the top of the frame, wherein each of the elastomeric domes is configured to be converted from the convex shape to the concave shape by pressing each from above the domes and to be converted from the concave shape to the convex shape by pressing each from beneath the domes; and indicia on each elastomeric domes corresponding to a letter, a number, or a letter and number combinations of a BINGO game, such that when a specific letter, number, or letter and number combination is selected pursuant to a game of BINGO, the dome corresponding to the selected letter, number, or letter and number combination is configured to be depressed into the concave shape; playing a game of BINGO; selecting a letter, a number, or a letter and number combination; pressing an elastomeric dome in a space having the letter, number, or letter and number combination corresponding to the selected letter, number, or letter and number combination to convert the elastomeric dome in the space from a convex shape to a concave shape when viewed from above or from a concave shape to a convex shape when viewed from above.

In an embodiment, the first column of the five-by-five grid of spaces has a letter and number combination beginning with the letter “B”, the second column of the five-by-five grid of spaces has a letter and number combination beginning with the letter “I”, the third column of the five-by-five grid of spaces has a letter and number combination beginning with the letter “N”, the fourth column of the five-by-five grid of spaces has a letter and number combination beginning with the letter “G”, and the fifth column of the five-by-five grid of spaces has a letter and number combination beginning with the letter “0”.

In an embodiment, each of the elastomeric domes is made from a silicone material.

In an embodiment, each of the elastomeric domes is sized so as to be to be pressable by a human finger.

In an embodiment, all of the elastomeric domes have the convex shape when viewed from above.

In an embodiment, some of the elastomeric domes have a convex shape and some of the elastomeric domes have a concave shape when viewed from above.

In an embodiment, all of the elastomeric domes have a concave shape when viewed from above.

In an embodiment, each of the spaces of the five-by-five grid of spaces has an elastomeric dome.

In an embodiment, each of the spaces of the five-by-five grid has an elastomeric dome except a center space of the five-by-five grid of spaces.

In an embodiment, the center space of the five-by-five grid of spaces does not have an elastomeric dome therein.

It is, therefore, an advantage and objective of the present invention to provide an improved game board apparatus.

Specifically, it is an objective and advantage of the present invention to provide an improved game board that may easily be utilized and re-used as needed to play multiple games with the same game board.

More specifically, it is an objective and advantage of the present invention to provide an improved game board apparatus that provides a user with the ability to non-destructively mark letter/number combinations as they are announced during a game.

In addition, it is an objective and advantage of the present invention to provide an improved game board apparatus that uses convex elastomeric “bubbles” that may be easily depressed and converted to concave “bubbles.”

By moving the bubbles from convex to concave (or vice versa), the game board may be easily marked to indicate specific letter/number combinations that have been drawn and announced.

Moreover, it is an objective and advantage of the present invention to provide an improved game board comprising elastomeric “bubbles” that may be “reset” by converting the depressed “bubbles” back to their original configuration after a game is played so that the game board may be utilized a plurality of times.

Additional features and advantages of the present invention are described in, and will be apparent from, the detailed description of the presently preferred embodiments and from the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawing FIGURES depict one or more implementations in accord with the present concepts, by way of example only, not by way of limitations. In the FIGURES, like reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary game board apparatus in an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention relates to a bubble popper game board apparatus. Specifically, the present invention comprises a game board having a grid of elastomeric “bubbles” or domes that may be depressed to convert each from a convex configuration to a concave configuration. The grid of elastomeric “bubbles” or domes may be labelled with numerical and/or alphabetic indicia. Preferably, the grid of elastomeric “bubbles” may be utilized in a BINGO game, wherein the grid is utilized as a game board having BINGO letters, numbers and/or letters and numbers printed thereon, such that when a letter, a number, or a letter and number combination is called or otherwise selected, the user may press the bubble or dome having the corresponding letter, number, or letter and number combination, thereby effectively marking that the same was called or otherwise selected.

Referring now to FIG. 1 , a game board apparatus 10 is illustrated in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The game board apparatus 10 comprises a grid of “bubbles” that may be in the form of elastomeric convex domes 12, when viewed from above. Specifically, the game board apparatus 10 may be utilized in the game of “BINGO” and have a five-by-five grid of elastomeric convex domes 12. These convex domes 12 may be pressed by a finger of a user, which may cause the convex domes to convert into concave depressions (not shown). When pressed, the resultant concave depressions may maintain their shapes until pressed from an opposite side thereof to re-form each into a convex dome shape. These are commonly referred to as “bubble poppers” or “fidget poppers.”

Each of the convex domes in the five-by-five grid may have a letter, number and/or letter and number combination indicium printed thereon that may correspond generally to letter, number, and/or letter and number combinations utilized in the “BINGO” game. For example, the first column of convex domes may have letter and/or number indicia printed thereon corresponding to numbers in the “B” range of “BINGO” numbers, the second column of convex domes may have letter and/or number indicia printed thereon corresponding to numbers in the “I” range, and so on.

When a player having game board with specific letter and/or number indicia printed thereon utilizes the board in a game of “BINGO,” the player may press the convex dome “bubble” corresponding to the announced letter/number combination drawn, thereby converting the dome “bubble” to concave depressions. Thus, each announced letter/number drawn may be marked. At the end of the game, the concave depressions may be pressed from the opposite side of the game board, thereby “resetting” the bubbles to their original convex dome configurations.

It should be noted that the “bubbles” may be in the “concave depression” configuration and when letter/number combinations are announced, and may be pressed from the opposite side thereby turning the concave depressions into convex domes.

When a full row, column, 4 corners, or other designated winning pattern is achieved, the player may announce that he or she has won, as in a normal “BINGO” game. The review by a game administrator of the concave depressions and the convex domes may allow the game administrator to easily tell whether the player has won.

Of course, while the present invention is described as a five-by-five grid, it should be apparent that the game board may be any size for any type of game as apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art. Moreover, a “master” board may be utilized in a similar manner having all the letter/number combinations presented on convex dome “bubbles”, such that when letter/number combinations are drawn, the corresponding letter/number indicia on a dome may be pressed, thereby indicating on the “master” board that the specific letter/number combination has already been drawn and announced. The “master” board may thus be utilized to track all letter/number combinations drawn and announced during a game.

In an alternate embodiment, game boards may be presented that do not have indicia printed thereon but may be utilized in combination with other means for displaying letter/number combinations. Specifically, a sleeve, film, or other like element may be disposed over the “bubbles” to assign specific letter/number combinations to the game board for a particular game. The sleeve, film, or other element may be placed thereon and removed so that the game board may be utilized with different letter/number combinations to be changeable from game to game. Thus, a discrete number of game boards with bubbles may be provided to users and the indicia may be provided separately to decrease the costs of manufacture thereof.

In other words, only a certain number of game board apparatuses having the “bubbles” thereon may be provided to players, but the sleeves, films, or other like elements, may be separately provided so that the game board apparatuses may change from game to game.

It should be noted that various changes and modifications to the presently preferred embodiments described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention and without diminishing its attendant advantages. Further, references throughout the specification to “the invention” are nonlimiting, and it should be noted that claim limitations presented herein are not meant to describe the invention as a whole. Moreover, the invention illustratively disclosed herein suitably may be practiced in the absence of any element which is not specifically disclosed herein. 

We claim:
 1. A game board apparatus comprising: a frame having a top and a bottom; a five-by-five grid of spaces wherein a plurality of elastomeric domes are disposed within a plurality of spaces of the five-by-five grid, respectively, each of the elastomeric domes having a convex shape when viewing the top of the frame or a concave shape when viewing the top of the frame, wherein each of the elastomeric domes is configured to be converted from the convex shape to the concave shape by pressing each from above the domes and to be converted from the concave shape to the convex shape by pressing each from beneath the domes; and indicia on each elastomeric domes corresponding to a letter, a number, or a letter and number combination of a BINGO game, such that when a specific letter, number, or letter and number combination is selected pursuant to a game of BINGO, the dome corresponding to the selected letter, number, or letter and number combination is configured to be depressed so as to form the concave shape.
 2. The game board of claim 1 wherein the first column of the five-by-five grid of spaces has a letter and number combination beginning with the letter “B”, the second column of the five-by-five grid of spaces has a letter and number combination beginning with the letter “I”, the third column of the five-by-five grid of spaces has a letter and number combination beginning with the letter “N”, the fourth column of the five-by-five grid of spaces has a letter and number combination beginning with the letter “G”, and the fifth column of the five-by-five grid of spaces has a letter and number combination beginning with the letter “O”.
 3. The game board of claim 1 wherein each of the elastomeric domes is made from a silicone material.
 4. The game board of claim 1 wherein each of the elastomeric domes is sized so as to be to be pressable by a human finger.
 5. The game board of claim 1 wherein all of the elastomeric domes have the convex shape when viewed from above.
 6. The game board of claim 1 wherein some of the elastomeric domes have a convex shape and some of the elastomeric domes have a concave shape when viewed from above.
 7. The game board of claim 1 wherein all of the elastomeric domes have a concave shape when viewed from above.
 8. The game board of claim 1 wherein each of the spaces of the five-by-five grid has an elastomeric dome.
 9. The game board of claim 1 wherein each of the spaces of the five-by-five grid has an elastomeric dome except a center space of the five-by-five grid.
 10. The game board of claim 1 wherein the center space does not have an elastomeric dome therein.
 11. A method of using a game board apparatus within a game, the method comprising the steps of: providing a game board apparatus comprising: a frame having a top and a bottom; a five-by-five grid of spaces wherein a plurality of elastomeric domes are disposed within a plurality of spaces of the five-by-five grid, respectively, each of the elastomeric domes having a convex shape when viewing the top of the frame or a concave shape when viewing the top of the frame, wherein each of the elastomeric domes is configured to be converted from the convex shape to the concave shape by pressing each from above the domes and to be converted from the concave shape to the convex shape by pressing each from beneath the domes; and indicia on each elastomeric domes corresponding to a letter, a number, or a letter and number combinations of a BINGO game, such that when a specific letter, number, or letter and number combination is selected pursuant to a game of BINGO, the dome corresponding to the selected letter, number, or letter and number combination is configured to be depressed into the concave shape; playing a game of BINGO; selecting a letter, a number, or a letter and number combination; pressing an elastomeric dome in a space having the letter, number, or letter and number combination corresponding to the selected letter, number, or letter and number combination to convert the elastomeric dome in the space from a convex shape to a concave shape when viewed from above or from a concave shape to a convex shape when viewed from above.
 12. The method of claim 11 wherein the first column of the five-by-five grid of spaces has a letter and number combination beginning with the letter “B”, the second column of the five-by-five grid of spaces has a letter and number combination beginning with the letter “I”, the third column of the five-by-five grid of spaces has a letter and number combination beginning with the letter “N”, the fourth column of the five-by-five grid of spaces has a letter and number combination beginning with the letter “G”, and the fifth column of the five-by-five grid of spaces has a letter and number combination beginning with the letter “O”.
 13. The method of claim 11 wherein each of the elastomeric domes is made from a silicone material.
 14. The method of claim 11 wherein each of the elastomeric domes is sized so as to be to be pressable by a human finger.
 15. The method of claim 11 wherein all of the elastomeric domes have the convex shape when viewed from above.
 16. The method of claim 11 wherein some of the elastomeric domes have a convex shape and some of the elastomeric domes have a concave shape when viewed from above.
 17. The method of claim 11 wherein all of the elastomeric domes have a concave shape when viewed from above.
 18. The method of claim 11 wherein each of the spaces of the five-by-five grid of spaces has an elastomeric dome.
 19. The method of claim 11 wherein each of the spaces of the five-by-five grid has an elastomeric dome except a center space of the five-by-five grid of spaces.
 20. The method of claim 11 wherein the center space of the five-by-five grid of spaces does not have an elastomeric dome therein. 